Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
Lessons, lightbulb moments, and honest reflections from life inside and outside medicine - served with a side of perspective.
Tags: mindfulness
Showing 12 results:
Childhood Courage
In our early days as a family with one car, my husband's boss would pick him up for work up on a motorcycle. He kept the spare helmet at our house. Our oldest, a toddler at the time, had an instinctual and intense fear of the helmet -- even when Mark was wearing it (wise beyond her years?). This ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Mar 18, 2026
action
behavior
bravery
breakthrough
challenge
change
childhood
coaching
comfort-zone
confidence
courage
determination
development
empowerment
family
fear
fearlessness
future
goal-setting
growth
habits
inspiration
learning
life-lessons
mindfulness
mindset
motivation
overcoming
parenting
personal-growth
progress
psychology
reflection
resilience
reward
risk
self-growth
storytelling
success
transformation
vision
Same Game, Different Frame
Two men played chess a few evenings near the main path before dinner. It was entertaining to pass by and see them deep in strategic concentration.
One night, two photos were taken about twenty minutes apart from different angles.
In the first, the light, sky, and ocean make it feel expansive. So ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Feb 21, 2026
aperture
awareness
chess
contrast
curiosity
discourse
empathy
flexibility
framing
gratitude
growth
humility
insight
interpretation
leadership
lens
light
love
medicine
metaphor
mindfulness
mindset
narrative
perception
perspective
presence
psychology
reflection
relationships
strategy
vantage
Beauty and Belonging Discovered After Change (From the Archives)
When we moved from Florida to Alaska in 2007, it wasn't necessarily a big hit with our teenage girls. My oldest moved off to college saying she would visit us but she wasn't "moving out of the country." My youngest, was about to start 8th grade and had strong opinions about leaving her friends an...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Feb 18, 2026
acceptance
adaptation
adolescence
alaska
awareness
beauty
belonging
change
community
discovery
family
gratitude
growth
home
identity
impermanence
intentin
joy
mindfulness
nature
perspective
presence
refleciton
reflection
resilience
transformation
transition
Self-induced Blindspots
One time during a record snowfall winter, we ended up with a weekend alone. Our teenage daughter had been picked up by friends for the weekend. We decided to head downtown for a nice dinner. We took my car. As I was backing up our steep long drive, looking over my shoulder, the car jolted to a su...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Feb 09, 2026
accountability
assumptions
attention
automation
awareness
bias
choice
cognition
expectations
growth
habits
humility
identity
insgiht
intention
learning
medicine
metacognition
mindfulness
mindset
neuropathways
neuroscience
parallels
perception
presence
psychology
reflection
safety
selfworth
subconcious
Progress Through Process
I’ve been spending a lot of time lately in complex work with many moving parts: helping design a longitudinal faculty coach training with the STFM CBME Faculty Coach Training initiative, and collaborating with colleagues through an AMA-funded Precision Medicine education grant with GAFP. In both ...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jan 28, 2026
adaptability
attention
chunking
coaching
development
discipline
discomfort
focus
growth
improvement
incremental
integration
learning
mastery
mindfulness
observation
patience
persistence
planning
practice
process
progression
reflection
resilience
skillbuilding
Story and Reflection: By the Book
A lighter note for today. I thought it’d be fun to share a story about what happens when my rule-follower tendencies show up at the exact moment my plan stops matching reality.
Not too long ago, while traveling with multiple stops, airline changes, and short layovers, I was determined to fit ever...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jan 28, 2026
acceptance
adaptability
control
determination
flexibility
frustration
humility
humor
improvisation
mindfulness
partnership
patience
perseverance
perspective
planning
problem-solving
reflection
resilience
rules
travel
Grateful for Rejection? A Post-Thanksgiving Reflection
If you’re feeling maxed out on gratitude messages this month, you’re not alone. The day after Thanksgiving tends to expose the gap between the gratitude we’re “supposed” to feel and how our brains actually work. That gap is where the science gets interesting. So instead of another round of holida...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Dec 10, 2025
acceptance
awareness
bias
burnout
clarity
disappointment
ego
gratitude
growth
happiness
insight
mindfulness
mindset
mood
negativity
perspective
positivity
psychology
purpose
reflection
reframing
resilience
sleep
stress
When Effort Feels Right
A couple of weeks ago, my friend, colleague, and physician advocate Dr. Sasha Shillcutt wrote something that grabbed my attention:
“Can we all stop shaming women who work hard?”
It resonated.
The pendulum has needed to swing toward rest and boundaries for a long time. We’ve finally begun to norma...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Nov 14, 2025
agency
alignment
autonomy
awareness
balance
boundaries
burnout
choice
clarity
compassion
curiosity
discipline
effort
energy
expectations
flow
fulfillment
inquiry
insight
intention
judgment
mindfulness
obligation
overload
passion
people pleasing
perfectionism
perspective
priorities
purpose
recovery
reflection
reset
rest
self-care
shame
signals
support
sustainability
tells
validation
wellbeing
work
Reflection: Between the Gates
On her recent Dare to Lead podcast, Brené Brown reads an excerpt from her new book, Solid Ground. In it she described ship locks, sometimes called water elevators in canals, and it’s an image that has stayed with me.
For those who haven’t seen them: when a ship moves from one body of water to ano...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Oct 10, 2025
adaptation
adjustment
alignment
attention
awareness
balance
boundaries
calm
centering
compassion
connection
energy
equilibrium
flow
focus
grace
grounding
humanity
integration
intention
leadership
mindfulness
patience
pause
perspective
preparation
presence
recovery
reflection
regulation
renewal
reset
resilience
restoration
rhythm
self-awareness
space
stillness
sustainability
transition
Right Pause, Right Time Story and Reflection
Years ago, I was leading a medical team in Southeast Asia after the tsunami. Infrastructure was gone, local health workers were either missing or tending to their own communities, and our team, hosted by a local NGO, was running long, hot, and emotionally heavy days.
One morning, something was of...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jul 31, 2025
awareness
breath
burnout
clarity
cohesion
compassion
connection
emotion
gratitude
healing
humanity
insight
intention
leadership
listening
medicine
mindfulness
observation
pause
perspective
presence
purpose
recovery
reflection
resilience
restoration
support
sustainability
teamwork
wellbeing
The Award Not Won: Story and Reflection
It’s that season again. Graduation programs. Thank-you speeches. Awards. A flurry of new titles, public praise, and quiet appreciation.
We do this because it matters. Recognition is powerful. Appreciation even more so. But in the messiness of human systems, it doesn’t always land how we intend.
I...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 27, 2025
acknowledgment
alignment
appreciation
authenticity
belonging
care
celebration
community
compassion
connection
contribution
encouragement
equity
gratitude
humanity
humility
impact
inclusion
integrity
leadership
mentorship
mindfulness
presence
process
purpose
recognition
reflection
service
stewardship
support
systems
values
visibility
well-being
Wake Up Call in Paradise: Story and Reflection
In 2018, our annual mid-winter break took us to Hawaii with our adult daughters and our one grand-little at the time. We stayed together in an Airbnb, soaking up the warmth and beauty of the islands.
One morning, I took the grand in the stroller while the others split into two groups of runners h...
by Dr. Tonya Caylor —
Jun 12, 2025
acceptance
calm in chaos
clarity
composure
detachment
emergency
faith
false alarm
family
gratitude
grounding
instinct
legacy
meaning
mindfulness
mindset
perspective
presence
priority reset
reflection
resilience
surrealism
surrender
uncertainty
value alignment
Joy in Family Medicine – Stories & Reflections
